Chandigarh Mayoral Polls: SC declares AAP candidate victorious!!!

New Delhi: New Delhi: In the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Kuldeep Kumar won, serving a major victory for AAP, reports The Indian Express.

The court directed to treat the previously invalidated eight votes as valid. The court issued returning officer Anil Masih a show cause notice. It was he who defaced the eight votes.

Earlier, the top court informed its decision to issue an order to recount the votes cast in the controversial polls. The apex court said on the day that the declaration of results should only be after considering the eight defaced ballots, PTI reported.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra has commenced hearing the plea of defeated AAP candidate for the election Kuldeep Kumar, accusing returning officer Anil Masih of electoral malpractices.

The top court is scrutinising the ballot papers and watching the video recordings which were brought before it by a judicial officer appointed by the Punjab & Haryana High Court's Registrar General.

"We would like to see ballots which were invalidated," the CJI said at the outset.

The hearing is still underway.

The top court had on Monday voiced its deep concern over the "horse-trading" and said it would examine the ballot papers and video recording of the counting. It said instead of ordering fresh polls, it may consider a declaration of results on the basis of votes already cast.

The BJP won the Chandigarh mayoral polls on January 30, defeating the comfortably placed AAP-Congress alliance candidate after the returning officer declared eight votes of the coalition partners invalid, drawing accusations of tampering with ballots.

Manoj Sonkar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defeated Kuldeep Kumar after polling 16 votes against his rival's 12 to bag the mayor's post. Sonkar, however, resigned subsequently, while three AAP councillors defected to the BJP.